The Jewell and the Lotus

"This is the year we have prayed for
This is our moment sublime
All of our lives we have waited for
For this one perfect time

Barbie, Barbie, others I knew
Can't compare for one moment with you
Everyone loves you, and everyone knows
That Barbie, my Barbie, your love will set me free"



Today marks the 50th anniversary of the uprising in Tibet when The People’s Liberation Army of China surrounded Lhasa and trained artillery guns on the palace. It is also the birth of Barbie. The sacrifice of the Tibetan people has resulted in the jewell of the dharma, the wisdom teachings of Liberation, being bourne around the world in their diaspora. Barbie, the tear Chenrezig wept at the fall of freedom in Tibet, has now reached maturity as a dharmapala dakini; Mattell manufactures a Tibetan Barbie, known as Fuxi Girl.


"How troubling when our daughters reach so readily for those eleven inches of molded plastic; the slender body that fits so easily in their still-dimpled hands; the far-from-lifelike doll that survives every kind of fashion torture, burial in sandboxes, drowning in bathtubs, and disastrous haircuts administered in secret with forbidden scissors. How mortifying when, among all the more sensible offerings, all the appropriate and sanctioned playthings, our daughters more or less universally agree: Barbie is good.

It’s in that rub, the eternal struggle of bad versus good, right versus wrong, that I see the hidden dimension of the icon under the bed. It goes beyond the unassailable ideals of gender neutrality and healthy body image. It’s far subtler than choosing sides with demons or innocents. It’s not us versus them; it’s neither black nor white. It’s dharma, the dharma of Barbie, available for as little as $5.99 at the discount superstore."

"I recognize the classic arc of fable in her tale. I see how densely human she is, how eternal and unknowable her mind. I stop trying to make the game be nice, quiet or amiable. I stop steering it by my own notions of fairness or morality. I let it be."

Now, Chenrezig resides in the tear on the cheek of Barbie.
May the wisdom of compassion & harmlessness speak through the unmoving lips of the dakini to all daughters that they, in turn, may teach us lift the misery of men.

"I can hear so much in your sighs
And I can see so much in your eyes
There are words we both could say
But don't talk, put your head on my shoulder
-
Don't talk, put your head on my shoulder
Come close, close your eyes and be still
Don't talk, put your head on my shoulder
Come close, close your eyes and be still"